On this Thanksgiving Eve, we wanted to take a little time to say our thanks as a team! Here are 20 things we’re thankful about this year.
1. Thanks to Our Customers (that’s YOU!)
First and foremost, we are SO THANKFUL for our customers. Our business only exists because of your business, and we’re thankful for every race director, timer, running store, running club, and ticketed event that has worked hard this year to build community and build back events. Thank you for choosing to work with us, and for sharing your unique and amazing events with us
We’ve had some customers share their event photos with us recently for our upcoming new website (you can still add yours here), and they remind us of just how COOL your events are. This set is from Ville to Ville Craft Brew Relay, Negative Split Productions, OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon, Good Times Event Services, and Rhode Races and Events.
Thanks for Great Features
As a technology company, we tend to be a little nerdy and get excited about little technology features that can get overlooked. So this week, we’re sharing the features we’re most thankful for – features that help our team sell our product, support our customers, and help events to grow and thrive.
2. Search
This is the little search bar at the top of your race dashboard that pulls up potentially relevant information as you type. We’re thankful that it means we can always find the feature or setting we’re looking for despite the ever-growing and evolving set of options to customize our race. It makes the platform and dashboard menu so much less intimidating!
3. Race Renewals
This is the ability to renew your race on RunSignup, instead of re-creating or copying it year after year. We’re thankful that renewals makes it easier for race directors to access email lists from previous participants, keep race websites updated, and understand the trends of their event. For example, a quick click on the “Signups” stat on your dashboard opens an at-a-glance comparison of your race over the last three years.
Want to learn more about renewing your race correctly? There’s an upcoming webinar on renewals on December 1st! Sign up here.
4. Website Cover Pages
Website cover pages are the customizable homepages for your race on RunSignup. We’re thankful that cover pages allow races of all sizes (and technical abilities) to have professional and inspiring race websites. Here are a few of our recent favorites:
Want to create a better cover page for your event? Steve Bingham-Hawk & James Armington recently covered the key website components in this webinar. If you’re more of the reading type, you can also browse the cover pages how-to.
5. Website Builder
Website builder (currently just available for Ticket Events) is the easy drag-and-drop way to build more dynamic content pages. We’re thankful that it makes it simple for ticket event directors to build their website into something sleek and appealing.
You can learn more about website builder for ticket events in this webinar. If you’re focused solely on RunSignup events, you still have options for building informative and engaging content via custom content custom content display, and menu options.
6. Event Display Options
These are the options to add call-outs, edit descriptions, and add branded visuals to the event tiles on your website. Whether it’s a ticket event or race, we’re thankful that customers have the control to customize the way their event or ticket tiles look – and that they can always show exactly the information and data they want on the most important component of their website.
Learn more about customizing your event tiles here.
7. Donation Levels & Goal Thermometers
Donation levels are the different default donation levels that race directors can set for their fundraising events, while goal thermometers are the visual demonstration of fundraising progress. We’re thankful for customizable donation levels – especially those customized to relate the donation dollars to the mission – because it makes it easier for participants, fundraisers, and donors to see the true value of their personal donations. Learn more about customizing your donation levels here.
The Leading Edge Take Heart 5K has a great example of the power of tying your donation levels to the impact of each donation.
Then, we’re thankful for donation thermometers because they are a visual demonstration of the difference that can be made when race directors, participants, fundraisers, and donors all contribute to a common goal. Learn more about adding a donation thermometer to your donation page and on your cover page.
8. Fundraising Milestones & Badges
Fundraising milestones and badges are the fun digital rewards that events can use to encourage and congratulate their fundraisers. We’re thankful that they give fundraisers the ability to see a goal, achieve a goal, and see their effort recognized. Plus, it makes raising money a little more like playing a video game!
You can learn more about setting up milestones and badges here or see how team badges (like the ones above) work here.
9. Multi-Person Pricing
Multi-person pricing is the pricing feature that discounts registration when many multiple people register in the same transaction. We’re thankful that it helps races to be more family friendly and encourage groups of friends to register together and save. It’s a great tool for encouraging multi-generational turkey trot participation!
Learn more about setting up multi-person pricing here, and dive into all the ways you can use pricing to increase registrations for your event with this webinar.
10. Free Email Platform
RunSignup’s email platform for events and organizations is built right into your race dashboard. We’re thankful that email is always free to use, whether event directors are emailing registered participants or promoting their event to tens-of-thousands of external contacts. Email is one of the most valuable marketing tools in the industry, and while some platforms like Eventbrite require a paid subscription to access email for promotional purposes (unless your list is very small), RunSignup’s is always free. Money saved on email is money available for more more marketing efforts!
Learn more about Email V2 for races and for organizations.
11. Email Replacement Tags
Email replacement tags are an email feature that allow race directors to send personalized information like name, event time, bib number, or event custom information like years participating. We’re thankful for the power of dynamic data and the ability for race directors to automatically insert data from their race into their emails – or even, to upload custom replacement tags with any personal information they want to include in their emails. Like unlimited marketing emails, replacement tags aren’t available on free email from Eventbrite and other platforms.
Learn more about email replacement tags here.
12. Automated Referral Rewards
Automated referral rewards allow race directors to offer refund and swag incentives to participants who successfully refer others to the event – without additional overhead. We’re thankful that automation makes setting up referrals convenient and easy, helping races to boost registrations and grow their community.
Learn more about how referrals can increase registrations for your race with this webinar, and review the setup information with this how-to.
13. Custom Source Tracking
Custom source tracking is the RaceInsights feature that allows races to create unique race website links for every marketing effort and track the page views, registrations, donations, and transaction dollars from each unique link. We’re thankful that RaceInsights has made the complex challenge of understanding and evaluating the success of marketing efforts as simple as clicking a few buttons. It’s easy to set up, with simple reports that make it clear which marketing efforts have brought in the largest audience and most revenue.
Learn how to set up custom source tracking links for your race here.
14. Virtual Races & Challenges
Virtual options for races and challenges are the suite of tools that allow race directors to set up virtual or hybrid events with participants who join anywhere, anytime. We’re thankful that they remove geographical barriers to participation and allow people to connect with communities and causes everywhere.
One specific virtual feature we’re thankful for is virtual results because they provide a way to include everyone involved (even if they want to report a time but not a finish!).
Learn more about setting up your virtual race here, or review your options for a virtual challenge here.
15. RaceDay CheckIn App
The RaceDay CheckIn App is the on-site app that makes it easy for volunteers and staff to check in your participants. We’re thankful for how speedy it makes check-in with the ability to check in participants by search or with a quick QR scan. Additionally, it ensures that volunteers can easily access all the information they need (like shirt size) and none of the data that’s irrelevant to their job.
One of our favorite recent updates is the ability to connect the CheckIn App with a label printer!
Catch up on the latest for the RaceDay CheckIn App with this webinar, or learn more about label printing and the CheckIn App here.
16. RaceDay Results
RaceDay Results is the results platform that allows timers to post results from their race. We’re thankful that the results posted make it so easy to search, filter, and view individual results information, including links to any photos of the participant, finisher certificates, and finish-line videos.
Learn more about RaceDay Results here.
17. Bidirectional Syncing
Bidirectional syncing is the functionality that allows the RunSignup registration platform, the RaceDay CheckIn App, and RaceDay Scoring to talk to each other in real-time and keep all systems updated. We’re thankful that the syncing of data allows races of all sizes to access “Big Race” tools and make their events more engaging and impressive.
18. RunSignup’s API
The RunSignup API is how we make it possible for partners to take our race information and use it to build solutions for their organizations. We’re thankful that it’s given customers the opportunity to build really cool third part applications, and that those customers have shared their innovation with our team! Imagination and data are a lot of fun!
Learn more about our Open API here.
19. Infrastructure
Our infrastructure isn’t something you see but it’s the key to keeping registrations open, payments processed, and revenue flowing to you. We’re thankful that our infrastructure can handle high volumes like the 700,000 participants signed up to run turkey trots tomorrow. Years of attention to detail, investment in high availability, and continuous improvement mean RunSignup employees can enjoy Thanksgiving, too!
Learn more about availability here.
20. The RunSignup Development Team
None of the features above exist without the talented and hardworking development team at RunSignup. We’re thankful to each member of the team for their contributions this year, and for making all our jobs (and hopefully your jobs) a little easier!
